Hen&#39;s nest-box.



C. 0. 0. HUSEBY.

HEN'S NEST BOX. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 3. I914.

Patented May 11, 1915.

lNvfNTOR Chr/s/lan f/useby BY HIS ATTORNEY'S wmwpaua I THE NORRIS PETERS 60.. P801124 I'Hm wAsHlnnmu n r CHRISTIAN OLAF OLSEN HUSEBY, OF CRARY, NORTH DAKOTA.

HENS NEST-BOX.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 11, 1915.

Application filed September 3, 1914. Serial No. 859,940. 7

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHRISTIAN OLAF OLSEN HUsnBY, citizen of the United States, residing at Crary, in the county of Ramsey and State of North Dakota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hens Nest-Boxes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has for its object to provide an improved hens nest box and, to this end, it consists of the novel devices and combinations of devices hereinafter described and defined in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the invention, like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of the improved nest box, with the door open; Fig. 2 is a corresponding view, with thedoor closed; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section, taken on the line a m of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a longitudinal vertical section, taken on the line 2: x of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a detail view, in section, taken on the line 00 m of Fig. 2; and Fig. 6 is a detail view, in perspective, of the door locking mechanism, on an enlarged scale.

The improved nest box comprises side plates 1, front and rear plates 2, the former having a door opening 3, and a rearwardly and downwardly sloping top plate 4. As shown, the bottom of the nest box comprises a multiplicity of edgewise spaced slats 5,

which extend from the front to the rear of said box. Extending transversely of these slats 5 and directly secured thereon, are front, rear and intermediate slats 6, 7 and 8, respectively.

A vertically movable door 9, for the door opening 3, is mounted for sliding movement in a pair of vertical guides 10, secured to the front plate 2, one on each side of said door opening. This door 9 is yieldingly held closed by a pair of weights 11, which are suspended within the nest box by a pair of cables 12, secured to the upper horizontal edge of said door. These cables 12 are arranged to run over guide sheaves 13 journaled in the upper portion of the front plate 2.

Mounted within the rear end portion of the nest box is a nest-supporting platform 14, as shown, preferably constructed from slats secured together. This platform 14 is hinged at 15 to the cross slat 7 for vertical swinging movement toward and from the rear plate 2. The front edge portion of the platform 14 is yieldingly held in an elevated position, as shown in Fig. 3, by a coiled spring 16 mounted between the front edge portion of said platform and the slat 8. A segmental rod 17 is secured at one end to the platform 14, projects through the spring 16, and has its other end mounted in a perforation in the slat 8, with freedom for endwise movement. Obviously, this rod 17 keeps the spring 16 in position and guides the platform 14 during its raising and loW- ering movements.

Between the platform 14 and the door opening 3 is mounted a door-opening platform 18, hinged at 19 to the slat 8, just forward of the platform 14, and for like vertical raising and lowering movements therewith. The front edge portion of this platform 18 is yieldingly held in an elevated position by coiled springs 20, mounted between the platform 18 and brackets 21. Secured to the platform 18 is a pair of segmental rods 22 which are telescoped through the respective springs 20 and through perforations in the brackets 21. The brackets 21 are secured to the under side of the slats 5 and the springs 20 and rods 22 work freely through perforations in the slat 6. The tension of these springs is such that they will be compressed under the weight of a hen on either of the platforms 14 or 18.

The door 9 is normally held open with its upper edge portion in substantially the same plane with the lower edge portion of the door opening 3, as best shown in Fig. 3, by a lock bolt 23. This lock bolt 23 is mounted for both endwise and rotary movements in depending front and rear guide plates 24 and 25, respectively. The plate 24 is securedrto the front plate 2 and the plate 25 is secured to the slat 8. The outer end portion of the lock bolt 23 is adapted to enter a perforation 26 in the door 9 to hold said door in an open position under the action of the weights 11, as best shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

A long coiled spring 27 is telescoped onto the lock bolt 23 between the brackets 24 and 25 and one end thereof in anchored to the bracket 24 and the other end thereof is anchored to said lock bolt. This spring 27 tends to hold the lock bolt 23 projected and in engagement with the perforation 26. Rigidly secured to the rear end of the lock bolt 23 is a downwardly inclined, relatively short arm 28 and an upwardly inclined, relatively long arm 29. The free end of the arm 29 engages the under side of the front edge portion of the platform 1% and, when oscillated under a downward movement of the platform 14, imparts a rotary movement to said lock bolt. Under this rotary movement of the lock bolt 23 the arm 28 engages a cam lug 30, as shown, pressed from the plate 25, and imparts an endwise movement to the lock bolt 23 and thereby withdraws the same from the perforation 26. hen the lock bolt 23 is withdrawn from the perforation 26 the door 9, under the action of the weights 11, is closed. lVhen the weight of a hen is removed from the platform 14, the spring 16 returns said platform to its normal position. The lock bolt 23, and arms 28 and 29 are returned to their normal po sitions by a cable 31, secured at one end to the lower edge portion of the door 9, and at its other end to the outer end of the arm 28. The intermediate portion of this cable 31 works throughv andis guidedby perfora tions formed in the plates 21 and 25. Said cable 31 also limits the closing movement of the door 9 to leave a light opening between the upper edge thereof and the top of the door opening, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 4.

The door 9 is opened under the weight of a hen on the platform 18, which is connected to the cables 12 by cables 32. As shown, these cables 32 are connected, at their lower ends, to the free edge of the platform 18 and, at their upper ends, to the intermediate portions of the cables 12. The intermediate portions of the cables 32 extend through openings in the front plate 2 and run over guide sheaves 33, journaled in said front plate 2. Obviously, under the downward movement of the platform 18, the cables 32 drawing downward on the cables 12 lift the weights 11 and allow the door 9 to open under the action of gravity. During the opening movement of the door 9 the lock bolt 23 is in a retracted position and at the limit of said opening movement the cable 31 returns the arm 28 to its normal position, thus allowing the spring 27 to move the lock bolt into the opening 26, thus locking the door 9 open. The downward movement of the platform 18 is not sufficient to completely open the door 9 but it opens the door wide enough to permit a hen standing on the platform 18 to step upon the upper edge portion of the door 9 and, under her weight, complete the opening movement of said door.

Operation: The operation of the improved nest box, may be briefly stated as follows: As previously stated, the door 9 is normally held open by the lock bolt 23. In entering the nest box, a hen passes through the door opening 3, steps on the platform 18 and from thence onto the nest-supporting platform 1 1. Under her weight, the spring 16 will be compressed thus allowing the said platform to move into a position as shown in Fig. Jr.- This movement of the platform 14 oscillates. the 'arm 29 and thereby rotates the lock bolt 23. This rotation of the lock bolt 23 oscillates the arm 28 into engagement with the cam 30, which imparts an endwise movement to said lock bolt, thereby withdrawing the same from the perforation 26. hen the lock bolt 23 is withdrawn from engagement with the door 9 the weights 11 lift the said door into a closed position, thereby preventing other hens from entering the nest box. In leaving the nest box, the hen steps from the platform onto the platform 18. The spring 16 immediately returns the platform 14 to its normal position and the weight of the hen on the platform 18 compresses the springs 20 allowing the platform 18 to move into its lowermost position. This downward movement of the platform 18, through the cables 12 and 32, lifts the weights 11 and allows the door to move downward under the action of gravity. As previously stated, the movement of the platform 18 is not suflicient to allow the door 9 to completely open but it will allow the same to open sufliciently to permit the hen to step on the upper edge thereof, and, under her weight, complete the opening movement of the said door. During the final opening movement of the door 9 the cable 31 draws the arm 28 downward out of engagement with the cam 30, thus allowing the. lock bolt 23, under the action of the spring 27 to enter the perforation 26 and lock the door 9 open.

hat I claim is:

1. Thecombination with a nest box, having a door opening, of a normally open door for said door opening, yielding means tending to close said door, a nest-supporting platform within said box, a lock for holding said door open, means actuated by the weight of a hen on said nest-supporting platform, for actuating said lock to permit said door to close, and a door-opening platform mounted in said box, between said door opening and said nest-supporting platform, arranged to open said door under the weight of a hen on said door-opening platform.

2. The combination with a nest box, having a door opening, of a normally open door for said door opening, yielding means tendingto close said door, a yieldingly held nestsupporting platform within said box, a lock for holding said door open, means actuated by the movement of said nest-supporting platform, under the weight of a hen, for releasing said lock to permit said door to close, and a yieldinglv held door-opening platform mounted in said box between said door opening and said nest-supporting platform, arranged to open said door under the Jiveight of a hen on said door-opening platorm.

3. The combination with a nest box, having a door opening, of a normally open door for said door opening, yielding means tending to close said door, a yieldingly held nest-supporting platform within said box, an endwise and rotatively movable lock bolt for holding said door open, a spring holding said lock bolt protracted, a cam for retracting said lock bolt, and an arm on said lock bolt arranged to be engaged by the movement of said platform to impart a rotary movement to said lock bolt, said arm when rotated engaging said cam to retract said lock bolt.

4. The combination with a nest box, having a door opening, of a normally open door for said door opening, yielding means tending to close said door, a yieldingly held nestsupporting platform within said box, an endwise and rotatively mounted lock bolt for holding said door open, a spring holding said look bolt protracted, a cam for retracting said lock bolt, an arm on said lock bolt arranged to be engaged by the movement of said platform to impart a rotary movement to said lock bolt, and a connection to said door for returning said arm to a normal position during the opening movement of said door.

5. The combination with a nest box having a door opening, of a normally open door for said door opening, weighted cables for closing said door, a spring-held nest-supporting platform within said box, a lock for holding said door open arranged to be actuated by the downward movement of said nest-supporting platform, a spring-supported door-opening platform mounted in said box between said door opening and said nest-suporting platform, and a connection from said door-opening platform for raising said weighted cables to permit said door to open under the action of gravity.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHRISTIAN OLAF OLSEN HUSEBY.

Witnesses:

JOHN SAGVANG, ERNEST E. ANDERSON,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,v Washington, D. 0'. 

